Saturday, 20 February 2016

Peacock throne of Mogul now in Turkey!!

"The world, where we are living, is a transient one; what is today may not be there tomorrow; the vast riches that make the owners head swollen, may not be there for them tomorrow."Any Indian visiting Turkey's Istanbul's Topkapi palace built by order of Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Ottoman Sultan – Mehmet II) will be aghast to find an Indian style golden peacock throne . It was gifted to Ottoman Emperors by Nadir Shah (ruled as

Painting of Nader Shah, he
was Shah of Iran from 1736 to 1747, he created the Afsharid dynasty
which was an Iranian empire of Turkic origin.en.wikipedia.org/

ruled as Shah of Persia :1736–47) who looted the Mogul rulers treasury and othertreasures in Delhi during the period February and May,1739. Indeed, it was a great blow for the Mogul dynasty. The custom made throne actually belonged to Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan who built the Taj Mahal.

Painting of the (later) Peacock Throne in the Diwan-i-Khas of the Red Fort, around 1850. en.wikipedia.org

. Peacocck throne in Topkapi palace.looted from Delhi, given as gjft to the Ottoman rulers. akshay-chavan.blogspot.in

The throne, a high-edged table resting on four legs is a lovely example of Indian artisans' artistic talents, imagination and workmanship that is replete with minute details. The lower stool in front of the throne is meant for the ruler to rest his legs on it. The throne has a cover with a cushion decorated with gold braid and pearls. Gold, with a red and green enamel wash and decorated with rubies, emeralds, and pearls adorn the entire surface of the throne. This throne is a part of the spoils of generations of ottoman conquests and spoils from as far as Austria to Morocco. One Kemal Attaturk, overthrew the Ottomen who immediately fled the country, leaving behind all their valuable jewels and treasures which they guarded with great pride. This helped the Ottoman jewel collection of spoils survive intact.

Soon after the loot in 1739 in Delhi by Nadir Shah , a notorious tyrant who pludered Delhi and other places, including numerous Hindu temples took his spoils to Iran. His spoils included several thrones - may be nine by the Moguls, and the famous Kohinoor diamond. Besides, he massacred hundreds of people and made the Moguls bleed. Now the vast Mogul coffers were empty, not even bottom dollars!Subsequently Nadir Shah, back in Iran, was assassinated. After his death the Peacock throne was broken down and damaged. In the Mogul empire , instead of Gold, silver throne just like Peacock throne, was used till the time of last Mogul ruler Bahadur Shah Zafar. The Sepoy revolt of 1857 was a great opportunity for petty British military officers to ransack the spoils of war. After the recapture of Delhi, British took away all the reaming valuable treasures. The broken down pieces of this silver throne became war trophiesfor the British.

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I am KN.Jayaraman, Retd Geologist, author of this blog. I have a strong passion for Ancient Indian Culture, art, architecture, etc...
I started this blog with a view to covering the above areas and also odd things related to India.
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